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STEP1. DOCUMENT SET-UPSet Document dimensions to the material sizego to File > Document Properties > Custom sizefx 600 x 400 mm landscape (see image on the right), which is our normal material size at Cph Fablab. Orientate your file to represent how you would laser cut it out in real life.Max laser cutting area is 610 x 457 mm. For paper and thin materials you can lift up the rulers surrounding the laser bed to tuck the material underneath to hold in place or if it doesn’t fit on the bed. Always measure your material just in case. The thickness of the material matters when setting up the file in the laser cutter computer.You can also set the Default units to mm (or cm if you prefer that).Recommended Colour mode: RGB (note to Illustrator users mainly)

GENERAL OBJECT SETUP (example underneath)

Everything that has a color (let’s say black for the sake of simplicity from here on) - the laser cutter will either cut or engrave depending on what you want to do. Everything left empty / white - the laser cutter will not cut or raster.The laser can also detect changes in greyscale when engraving for example.

HOW TO SET UP A FILE IN INKSCAPE (OR ILLUSTRATOR) FOR LASER CUTTING AT COPENHAGEN FABLAB

(EPILOG HELIX 40W)

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STEP 2. CUTTING SET UP

To make a cutting you need to draw some form of line. The laser will follow that line in the center. The laser burns away a small portion of the material - this is known as a “kerf” ranging between ca 0,08 - 0,2mm. Here is a link to a great guideline to learn more about kerfs - http://www.cutlasercut.com/resources/tips-and-advice/what-is-laser-kerf

Select your object you want to change to a cut line, applies also to text for example (you can also choose multiple objects/lines)

Go to top panel Object -> Fill and Stroke (Shift + Ctrl + F) You should get one window on the right with three tabs - Fill, Stroke paint and Stroke style (like in the image below)Change the following settings, go to1) Fill -> No paint Set Opacity : 100.0 (important! if it is smaller than 100 it will take is an engraving)2) Stroke paint -> Flat colour -> RGB -> R=0;G=0;B=0;A=255 (can be any color really)3) Stroke style -> Width = 0.02 -> millimeters!

The object you want to cut out should resemble the image on the right. Since the line 0,02 mm is very thin, it cannot often be seen when you are zoomed out. Either zoom in or change the view mode so you can see all the outlines in the document from afar. To do this do the following :Go to View -> Display mode -> Outline (shows outlines only and for example JPEG images as a rectangle with a red cross. Remember to put back to Normal mode which will show how the file will actually be saved)

If you only have a cutting job, go to STEP 4 to finalise your file. If you also have engraving, go to STEP 3.

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STEP 3. ENGRAVING SET UP

You can engrave a line, an image (jpeg etc), vectorized image and text. We usually do two engraving methods : raster engraving and vector engraving. There is also 3D engraving which has lots of tutorials online.

Raster engraving can be done with lines and images (jpeg etc and vector).Vector engraving is only for lines. We always recommend using vector engraving for lines - it is much faster. In that case you would set the line to a cut line of 0,02mm but change the power settings inside the laser cutter enough to only score the surface and not cut through.

But if needed, to raster engrave a line set it to 0,2 mm or thicker under Stroke style, otherwise the laser might cut it. It is all down to DPI, but for the sake of simplicity we say: cut line 0,02 mm, engraving line 0,2mm and thicker. The aesthetics between vector and raster engraving differ a bit.

To engrave text or vector objects set the following settings:Select the object/part you want to engraveGo to Object -> Fill and Stroke (Shift + Ctrl + F)Fill -> Flat colour -> RGB -> R=0;G=0;B=0;A=255You do not need to change the line settings, but always good to double check what they are under Stroke paint and Stroke style.

Your object should look like the one on the bottom left. Stroke paint is No paint and Stroke width is 0 in this case.

The laser cutter can also engrave images in greyscale. The lighter the color, the less power the laser will assign to that area. That is to say, the laser will engrave deepest or darkest when it is solid black (depending on the material). Below is a greyscale vector image.

Greyscale fills

To engrave image files like JPEG etc you can either import it into your document as is and engrave it or you can vectorize it. You can always test and see which result your prefer. It is recommended to turn your images to greyscale before. To vectorize an image do the following:Select the image -> go to Path in the top panel -> Trace Bitmap and turn on Live preview or Update the image after every change. Then play around with Brightness Threshold until the desired result. There are also a lot of other option under Trace Bitmap you can try to change.To finish click on OK and a vectorized version of your image appears on top of your actual one. You can move the vector image to the side and delete the old image.On the bottom right is a greyscale JPEG, not vectorized which will work okay as well. Lots of contrast is usually better but again - depends on your desired result and materials. Always good to test before!

In the end move your object(s) to the top left corner of the canvas - this point will be your Home (starting) position in the laser cutter. Your document should look something like the image below.

STEP 4. FINALIZING THE FILE

If you have a laser job that is a full sheet then a good idea is to leave a few millimeters free from the edges of your canvas.

If you have a lot of objects and looking for a way to arrange them to save space look up SVGNest that can help rearrange your objects for you - http://svgnest.com

Finally, save your file as a PDF. Go to File -> Save as and change the “Save as type” to PDF

Then, put it on a USB stick and put your file in the laser cutter computer. Recommended to put it on the desktop.

Tip for naming your files:The laser cutter has a small display and only shows the first few characters in the file name that you are going to send in. If you have several files, rename them in the beginning for example - 1cutting.PDF / 2cutting.PDF etc...

Happy laser cutting!

Made in Copenhagen Fablab